Gun carrier



Aug. 4, 1953 R. G. BROWN ETAL 2,647,667

GUN CARRIER Filed April 26, 1950 1NVENTOR5 RUSSELL a. EROWN and KENNETH E. BROWN ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 4, 1953 Russell GrBrownand Kenneth ELBrown, Montague, Mich.

Application April'26, 1950, Serial No. 158,294

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a gun carrierand moreparticularly to a carrier by whicha shotgun or rifle, such as is commonly used by sportsmen, may be suspended from the shoulder of the user, thus leaving his hands free;

The'primary object of the invention is to free the hands of a hunter from the necessity of supportin fire arms and so that the' hands and arms may be free for use in separating underbrush and aid .in climbing over rough country.

Another object is tosuspend the gun from the shoulder of the user in such-a position'that it may be instantly brought into firing position with but a minimum amount of effort on the part of the user.

A further object'is to enable-the gun to be sup ported diagonally across the torso of the user with the barrel pointed upwardly and away'from the person of the user so as to contribute to the safety of the user and others.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a 'flexiblesling strap adapted to extend across one shoulder of the wearer and to encircle-his torso below his opposite shoulder, a gun butt supporting pocket carried by the sling strap below the portion thereof which overlies the shoulder of the wearer, aflexible cross strap fixed to the sling strap below the shoulder of the wearer beneath which thesling strap extends, a latch carried by the sling straprnear the portion thereof which overlies the shoulder of the wearer, and a keeper carried by the cross strap for'engaging the latch and holding thecross strap diagonally across thetorso' of the wearer sothat-the cross strap can be made to overlie the barrel of a gun supported inthe pocket to hold saidgun diagonally across the torso of the wearer.

Other features include a gun barrelolipmounted on the cross strap for longitudinal adjustment thereon, means for adjusting thelatchlongitudinally on the sling strap, and shell pocketscarried by the sling strap between its junction with the cross strap and the gun butt pocket.

In the drawings: 1

Figure 1 is a front view in elevationofa gun carrier embodying the features: of this invention, showing'it on the person of 'a-user with a gun supported therein;

Figure 2 is a front view of thegun carrier re-v moved from the person of the wearer and illustrating it in gun supporting position;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the cross strap released for disengaging the gun;

Figure 4is an enlarged sectional view through the latch;

Figure 5 is an end view of .the latch;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan View taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Figure 2 showing the gun clip in detail;

Figure 7 is an end view of trated in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a front face of the gun clip and cross strap showin the manner in which the clip is held in proper position on the cross strap; and

Figure 9 is an enlargeddetail view illustrating a modified form of coupling the cross strap to the sling strap by whichadiustment of the cross strap relative to the sling strap may be accomplished.

Referring to the drawings in detail a gun carrier designated generally In comprises a sling strap 12 which-is looped across the shoulder of the wearer as at M and carried downwardly in a diagonal direction across his back to a point l 6 beneath the opposite shoulder. This strap" con-- tinues aroundthe front of the wearer andis conthe gun clip illuslnectedas at l8 to the sling strap near its lower end beneath the shoulder over which it passes. The portion of the sling strap l2 which lies between the portion I6 and its junction i8 is provided witha longitudinal series of loops 28 which form pockets for the reception of ammunition such as shotgun shells. Formed in the slingstrap r in the portion thereof whichliesacross the chest of the'user immediately below the shoulder over which the sling strap passes is a longitudinal row orspaced openings 22, the purpose of which will be more fully hereinafter'described.

Stitched or otherwise-secured to the sling'strap lz'nearthe portion'lfi thereof is across strap 24 which extends upwardly diagonally across the chest of the wearer when the device. is ingun supporting position; This crossstrapisprovided at the end opposite that coupled to the slin strap I 2-withakeeperltwhich cooperates with alatch designated generally :28 to be'more fully hereinafter described;

Suspended from the lower end of the strap l2 below the-portion I 4 "which passes over the" shoulder of the wearer is a gun butt receiving pocket 30 in which the butt of the rifle or gun supported by the carrier is received.

The latch 28 previously referred to comprises a substantially rectangular body 32 having formed therein longitudinally extending spaced parallel bores 34 and 36. As illustrated, the bore 36 is positioned adjacent one longitudinal side edge of the body 32, and formed in the body intermediate its ends and intersecting the bore 36 is a notch 33 for the reception of the keeper 26 previously referred to. Mounted for longitudinal sliding movement in the bores 34 and 36 are the legs respectively All and d2 of a substantially U-shaped bolt designated generally 44. vided at its bight portion with an angularly offset finger member 46 by which it may be easily moved when it is desired to release the keeper 26. As illustrated the leg 42 of the bolt extends into the bore 36 and intersects the notch 38 so that when the keeper is in the notch and the bolt is projected, the keeper will be retained therein. In order to so project the leg 42 of the bolt 44, a retractile coil spring 48 is fitted within the bore 3 and coupled at one end to the leg lil of the bolt, while the opposite end of the spring is connected to the body 32 and hence the leg Q2 of the bolt will be yieldingly held in projected position. The body 32 is provided on its rear side with a pair of longitudinally spaced spring clips 50 which embrace the sling strap l2, and these clips are so spaced from one another that when the end of one clip overlies an opening 22, the end 51 of the other clip 5!! willoverlie another opening 22. In this manner the latch 28 is held in the desired position on the sling strap l2. It will thus be seen that the angle at which the cross strap 24 crosses the chest of the wearer may be varied to suit various requirements.

As illustrated in the drawings, the cross strap 24 is provided intermediate its ends with a longitudinal row or spaced openings 54, and mounted for adjustment on the cross strap in the vicinity of the row of openings 54 is a gun barrel clipdesignated generally 55. This comprises a substantially U-shaped body 58, the legs of which extend outwardly and form a cradle 80 which partially embraces the barrel of a gun supported in the device. Carried by the body 58 adjacent opposite ends thereof are loops 62 which receive the cross strap 24, and carried by the body intermediate the ends thereof and extending forwardly therefrom is a pin 64 which is adapted to be received in one of the openings 54, adjustably to hold the gun barrel supporting clip in proper position on the cross strap 24.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Figure 8, the sling strap [2a is provided in that portion which lies beneath the shoulder of the wearer opposite that across which the sling strap extends with a longitudinal row of spaced openings 66, and mounted on the strap In is a buckle 63 carrying a cross bar I0 which is provided intermediate its ends with an outstanding pin 72 for entrance into one of the openings 65, in order to hold the buckle in proper adjusted position on the strap l2a. Carried at one end of the buckle 68 is an eye '14 for the reception of a suitable loop 16 carried by one end of the cross strap 24a. It will thus be seen that the cross strap 24a is adjustably coupled to the sling strap l2a beneath the shoulder of the wearer opposite that over which the sling strap passes.

In use with the sling strap in position on the body of the wearer, the portion 14 thereof will This bolt is pro-' overlie one shoulder of the wearer while the portion 16 thereof will lie beneath the opposite shoulder. A gun butt may then be placed in the pocket 30 and upon placing the gun diagonally across the chest of the wearer and coupling the keeper 26 to the latch 28, it will be evident that the gun clip 58 will engage opposite sides of the gun barrel and hold it against the chest of the wearer so that it extends diagonally across his torso. When it is desired to release the gun for use, pressure is exerted on the thumb piece 46 to move the bolt 44 against the effort of the spring 48 and thus withdraw the leg 42 of the bolt from engagement with the keeper 26. Such action will free the cross strap 24 which will fall away from the chest of the wearer and thus move the gun barrel clip 56 out of engagement with the gun barrel so that the gun butt may be moved to firing position without requiring its disengagement from'the pocket 36. Obviously the gun may be returned to its initial position and held in place by reengaging the keeper 2G with the latch 28. It is evident that by altering the position of the latch on the sling strap 12, or altering the position of the gun barrel clip on the cross strap 24 the position at which the gun lies across the chest of the wearer may be varied to suit his desires. Likewise adjusting the connection of the cross strap to the suspension strap as suggested in Figure 9, still further adjustment of the position of the gun barrel and gun may be attained.

Obviously if so desired the sling strap l2 may be provided in the portion thereof which crosses the back of the wearer with any suitable length adjusting means such as a buckle l8 and likewise the cross strap 24a may be equipped with suitable length adjusting means such as a buckle 30. In its preferred form the latch 23 is equipped with suitable silencing means which may take the form of tubular rubber bumpers 82 and 8 which encircle the legs 1E! and 42 of the U-bolt M between the body 32, of the latch 28 and the bigh't portion id of the bolt 44.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred form of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

We claim:

1. In a gun carrier, a strap trained over one shoulder of a wearer and having its front end portion depending diagonally across the front of the torso to a point adjacent the center of the waist line and its rear end portion extending diagonally downward across the back and encircled about the body below the other shoulder to a point of securement to the front end portion above its free end, a second strap having one end connecting with the front end portion of the first s'trap immediately below the said one shoulder and extending diagonally downward to a point of secureme-nt to the rear end portion adjacent the point of its emergence from beneath the said other shoulder, a pocket at the free end of the front end portion to seat the butt of a gun, and means carried intermediate the ends of the second strap to engage about the gun above the trigger mechanism thereof, whereby the barrel of the gun extends diagonally upward and projects above the said other shoulder.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, with means for adjusting the length of the first strap and other means foradjustably connecting the said one end of the second strap to the front end portion of the first strap at a distance above the point of connection of the said rear end portion with the latter portion, and a series of cartridge loops mounted on the rear end portion of the first strap between the point of securement of the second strap therewith and that of its connection with the front end portion of the first strap.

RUSSELL G. BROWN.

KENNETH E. BROWN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Rumsey Mar. 11, 1902 Laing Dec. 1, 1903 Read Jan. 30, 1906 Bates Jan. 2, 1951 Bennek Nov. 27, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Oct. 5, 1901 Germany July 1, 1912 Great Britain 1915 

